Thesis (M. A. (English Studies)) --University of Limpopo, 2019 / There is a universal consensus among educationalists and cognitive development theorists that integration of higher order thinking (HOT) in language teaching has farreaching positive implications in learners‘ future. Their extensive body of research clearly indicates the interrelationship between language and thinking. It shows that to develop well-rounded learners who can later deal capably with varying demands of the 21st century, teaching them linguistic and cognitive skills concurrently is a prerequisite. However, there is still a dearth of language teaching classroom-based data to be collected to ascertain which language pedagogic practices promote thinking or not. Hence, a qualitative exploratory case study was conducted to address this gap. The study was undertaken in five intermediate English FAL classes in Mankweng circuit. The aim was to establish whether HOT is encouraged in the intermediate English FAL classes. The study used two data analysis techniques: firstly, Tesch‘s inductive coding technique was used to analyse semi-structured interview results sourced from five English FAL teachers. They were sampled for the study to assess their conceptualisation of HOT and its application in their language classes. Contrastingly, Anderson and Krathwohl‘s (2001) framework was used to analyse one Grade 4 English workbook. To determine if its exercises‘ instructional verbs were promoting HOT or not; to check if the questions in its exercises were equally distributed over all the six levels of Bloom's revised Taxonomy of the cognitive domain; and to evaluate if there was an incremental introduction of HOTs in its exercises through the year. The results revealed the following: the five teachers could not conceptualise HOT and showed poor knowledge of how to teach it in their classes. The instructional verbs did not comprehensively encourage HOT; those which did were only pitched at the third level of thinking i.e. apply; most of the questions were in favour of low order thinking and there was little incremental introduction of the three top levels of Bloom‘s revised taxonomy in Grade 4 English FAL workbook specifically analyse, evaluate and create/design. Key words: High order thinking skills, cognitive domain, high order thinking and Bloom‘s revised taxonomy.

In a challenging and constantly changing world, students are required to develop advanced thinking skills such as critical systematic thinking, decision making and problem solving. This challenge requires developing critical thinking abilities which are essential in unfamiliar situations. A central component in current reforms in mathematics and science studies worldwide is the transition from the traditional dominant instruction which focuses on algorithmic cognitive skills towards higher order cognitive skills. The transition includes, a component of scientific inquiry, learning science from the student's personal, environmental and social contexts and the integration of critical thinking. The planning and implementation of learning strategies that encourage first order thinking among students is not a simple task. In an attempt to put the importance of this transition in mathematical education to a test, we propose a new method for mathematical instruction based on the infusion approach put forward by Swartz in 1992. In fact, the model is derived from two additional theories., that of Ennis (1989) and of Libermann and Tversky (2001). Union of the two latter is suggested by the infusion theory. The model consists of a learning unit (30h hours) that focuses primarily on statistics every day life situations, and implemented in an interactive and supportive environment. It was applied to mathematically gifted youth of the Kidumatica project at Ben Gurion University. Among the instructed subjects were bidimensional charts, Bayes law and conditional probability; Critical thinking skills such as raising questions, seeking for alternatives and doubting were evaluated. We used Cornell tests (Ennis 1985) to confirm that our students developed critical thinking skills.

The National Education Department of South Africa has mandated a policy of outcomes-based education for all learners and educators in this country. Two of the most important principles of outcomes-based education are collaborative work in groups and continuous assessment by the teacher and peers. In Computer Studies, taken on the higher grade, learners are expected to construct algorithms and programs by themselves. In the real world such algorithms and programs would be constructed by groups of people working together. The researcher’s purpose of conducting this study was to breach the gap that exists between what is done in accordance with the outcomes-based curriculum in schools - and what is expected in the real world where collaborative work is the norm. The researcher used Bloom’s high-order thinking skills as his point of departure for this study and examined the implications of how they contribute to real-world situations in the school environment. To evaluate the South African curriculum for Computer Studies on the higher grade, the researcher compared the South African curriculum was the curriculum used in Australia for learners of the same age group. The results led to an intervention in which South African learners were examined on high-order thinking skills and programming in the real world. / Dissertation (MEd (CIE))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

In a challenging and constantly changing world, students are required to develop advanced thinking skills such as critical systematic thinking, decision making and problem solving. This challenge requires developing critical thinking abilities which are essential in unfamiliar situations. A central component in current reforms in mathematics and science studies worldwide is the transition from the traditional dominant instruction which focuses on algorithmic cognitive skills towards higher order cognitive skills. The transition includes, a component of scientific inquiry, learning science from the student''s personal, environmental and social contexts and the integration of critical thinking. The planning and implementation of learning strategies that encourage first order thinking among students is not a simple task. In an attempt to put the importance of this transition in mathematical education to a test, we propose a new method for mathematical instruction based on the infusion approach put forward by Swartz in 1992. In fact, the model is derived from two additional theories., that of Ennis (1989) and of Libermann and Tversky (2001). Union of the two latter is suggested by the infusion theory. The model consists of a learning unit (30h hours) that focuses primarily on statistics every day life situations, and implemented in an interactive and supportive environment. It was applied to mathematically gifted youth of the Kidumatica project at Ben Gurion University. Among the instructed subjects were bidimensional charts, Bayes law and conditional probability; Critical thinking skills such as raising questions, seeking for alternatives and doubting were evaluated. We used Cornell tests (Ennis 1985) to confirm that our students developed critical thinking skills.